Ranchi, May 8: Four companies have responded to the government’s bid to give shape to chief minister Arjun Munda’s Knowledge City project that will be set up in neighbouring Khunti district to house various academic institutions and software companies.
The nodal agency to implement the project, Greater Ranchi Development Agency Limited (GRDA), will hold an evaluation committee meeting on May 14 and 15 to zero in on a company that will become the Project Development Adviser (PDA).
GRDA sources said the four companies that had applied for the advisory role were Darashaw & Company Pvt. Ltd, Feedback Infra and US-based companies Louis Berger Group and AECON. The last date for submissions was April 30.
The adviser’s role will also include preparation of bid documents for selection of implementing agencies.
State planning secretary Avinash Kumar, who is also the managing director of GRDA, told The Telegraph that they would soon appoint a reputable consultant for the project.
On possibilities of the Tata Group partnering the state, Kumar said, “If the Tata Group comes into the picture even after the appointment of a consultant for the project as desired by the chief minister, the GRDA board will look utilising their help in future.”
Munda today requested Tata Steel MD H.M. Nerurkar, who called on the chief minister in Ranchi, to partner the state’s endeavour to open an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT).
During the visit of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and his successor Cyrus Mistry in March, Munda had requested the corporate honchos to help execute the Knowledge City project and set up an IIIT on its premises.
But a final word from the Tata Group is yet to come.
The development adviser of the Knowledge City will draft a blueprint for the project for which around 400 acres are in the final stages of acquisition.
The education hub will comprise institutional areas and facilities for software companies. Once the blueprint is ready, GRDA will invite applications from premier institutes and companies to set up shop in the area.
